Ghost of a Girl
by Sarcastasaurus
Summary: Amy is left to cope with the aftermath of Ken's death, but somebody's unwilling to let her go through it alone. And what will happen when a killer, intent on wiping out "mutts" turns his attention to Amy? Pairing: Kemy and Maltara.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This is an idea that's been rolling around in my head ever since I finished chapter 6 of season 8. At the moment, it'll probably have the same priority as 26 Moments, unless you guys tell me otherwise. So please review! I hope you like it and I apologise for the cliffie at the end. :D**_  
><em>

_Dead_.

The word rang in Amy's ears as she numbly sat in her hotel room, Natara beside her.

"You sure you don't want something to drink?" Natara asked softly and cautiously, as though was Amy was some sort of wounded and terrified animal that would attack at any moment.

"No thanks." She replied, her throat was raw but she felt too sick to eat or drink anything.

"I'm sorry Natara. I just need to be alone for a while."

"I understand." Natara hugged Amy. "Try and get some sleep and make sure to drink something."

"Thanks Nat." Amy sniffed.

Amy locked the door after Natara left, then gazed around the room. It seemed so cold and empty at that moment

Amy's throat constricted as she felt another wave of tears coming on. Now that she was alone, she let them fall.

Ken was dead and he was never coming back. Why couldn't she just accept that fact?

Even as she wondered that, Amy could guess the answer.

She was in love with him.

She exhaled shakily and decided to try and go to sleep. Perhaps she could forget about the whole disaster for at least a few hours.

Amy slept fitfully.

In her dreams, the man who had killed Ken was drawing designs into her skin with the pieces of broken glass that had come from the shattered window. Once he was done, Amy's arms were covered in bloody tattoos of an octopus-like creature.

Amy sat bolt upright, gasping and hair plastered to her forehead with sweat.

She pushed away the building hysteria and forced herself to slow her breathing. She choked back a sob, then realised that something was wrong.

She glanced up, fumbling for the lamp switch so she could see.

Her mouth dropped open as she took in the figure standing at the end of her bed.

It was Ken.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! Wow, the response to this story so far has really shocked me. *Sniffle* I'm all emotional. :P I'd like to give a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, it means the world to mean when I get a review. I've got the Cause of Death forum up and running for all of those who don't read 26 Moments. I'll post the link at the end.**

**And a quick question, does anyone know how tall Amy is?** **In the Dead Man Walking episode, she was described as having "long slender legs" and I think there's some other mention about her having long legs. I always imagine her as being quite short and petite... And she has to stand on her tiptoes to kiss Ken so he's tall too. Are they both tall? Does it mention their heights anywhere?**

**I'm sorry if that seems like a stupid question, it's been bugging me for ages. :P**

**Chapter 2**

Kai resisted the urge to groan as he glanced at the stack of yet-unprocessed evidence. Amy was on leave which left Kai to cover both workloads. Not that he was complaining, Amy could take all the time she needed to get over Ken's death, she deserved at least that much.

If Kai was being honest, he missed Ken. He half expected the man to come into the lab, call out "Lab geeks" and proceed to scare Kai half to death. Despite the fact that they didn't always get on, Kai respected Ken. He smiled slightly as he remembered the fiasco with the the Veritox gas.

He caught sight of the pile of evidence again and the smile disappeared. He reached for the next piece of evidence. There was work to be done after all.

* * *

><p>Blaise ducked behind the ball as a hail of bullets bounced off the floor and walls. The Kraken may have been taken out but there was still plenty of more scumbags to put behind bars.<p>

She heard a curse and a crash. She glanced from around the wall to see the thief throw the gun to the ground and leg it towards the door.

Blaise bolted after him, leapt once she was close enough and tackled him to the concrete ground. He landed with a sharp exhale of breath and a yelp of surprise. Blaise felt an odd sense of satisfaction as she wrenched his hands behind back and attatched handcuffs as tightly as she could.

The man must have had some amount of brains because he didn't struggle as Blaise hauled him to his feet. "You have the right to remain silent." She told him, just before her phone rang.

"Hey Fallon." She greeted Mal as she lead the man towards her car.

"Blaise. You need to get back to the pretinct straight away." Mal didn't waste time on niceties.

"Sure thing. Why-" She was cut off as Mal hung up.

She pushed the still-compliant man into the back of her car, wondering what was so urgent. Surely another deranged serial killer wasn't on the rise.

They hadn't even had a week's rest since the last one.

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><p><strong>Here's the link to the forum! Just remove the spaces.<strong>

**http: / forum . fanfiction . net / forum / Cause _ of _ Death / 107961 /**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Thanks very much to all who reviewed and thanks also to PlayingWithColdFlames. I imagined Amy as being quite short and petite. (Not like I'm one to talk as I'm only 5 foot 1. :P) Enjoy the chapter and please review!**

In that moment, Amy was certain she had lost her mind. "Ken?" she whispered.

"Hey Ames." Ken smiled sadly.

"You're-" Amy faltered.

"It's ok." Ken said quietly. He sat down beside Amy. "You need some sleep Ames. I'll be here when you wake up. I promise."

Amy wasn't quite sure how to react. "I don't want to sleep." she admitted finally. "I keep seeing you-"

Ken pulled Amy into his arms, silencing her protest. "I'll stay with you." he assured her. "Just sleep. There'll be no nightmares."

Despite everything. Despite knowing Ken couldn't promise to get rid of the nightmares. Despite knowing that he was dead and that her sanity might be slowly slipping away, Amy believed him.

And so she trusted her dead boyfriend and let the tears fall as she lay silently in his arms.

Her last thought before she fell asleep was that Ken was warm for someone who was supposed to be dead.

* * *

><p>Alex Kemp stood in Captain Yeong's office. He was tense and Mal couldn't help but think that he looked an awful lot like someone who wanted to be somewhere far away from where he was.<p>

He had declined offers of a drink of water and a seat and had also refused to explain himself until Blaise had arrived.

After what seemed like ages, the blonde detective turned up in the office.

"What's up Captain?" she asked, paying no attention to Alex.

"Take a seat please Detective Corso." Maria said, distracted by the letter she was reading.

"Mr. Kemp." Maria glanced up. "Everyone's here now.".

Mal, Natara and Blaise had all been called in for whatever crisis was occurring. It must have been important.

Alex didn't waste time on greetings. "Yesterday evening I received this email." He nodded at the sheet of paper that Maria was holding. "One of the computer techs at DARPA quit last week. She was supposed to come to the offices to collect her references and return some stuff but she never showed up.

We tried to get in contact with her but there was no response. People were also sent to her apartment. There was nobody there and signs of a recent struggle. Agents were assigned to investigate it. Then I received the email."

Maria handed each of the detectives a copy of the email.

Mal read it quickly.

_Mr. Kemp._  
><em>We have Lucy. We had no intention of harming her but unfortunately, she is being very uncooperative. Send all information you have on Project Acetone or your beloved mutt is next."<em>

"They threatened your dog?" Blaise asked, incredulous.

Alex shook his head. "I don't own a dog. I have no involvement with Project Acetone either."

"Then why are they contacting you?" Mal asked. "And what dog are they on about?"

"I have no idea as to why they'd contact me." Alex sounded annoyed. "And I don't think they're talking about a dog when they say mutt." he sighed. "I think they're talking about Amy."

* * *

><p>Amy woke up feeling oddly comfortable. She blinked blearily, trying to figure out what was different.<p>

Once she realised that the dream she had last night of Ken being alive seemed to be still happening, she scrambled out of his arms.

"Ames?" Ken sounded worried and even a little bit hurt. "Are you ok?"

"I'm going mad." she muttered to herself, rubbing at her eyes as though that would change what she was seeing.

Ken Greene, whose funeral she had attended, was sitting on the bed opposite her, staring at her with concerned, brown eyes.

"It's official." Amy laughed almost manically as the vision didn't change. "I've lost it."

"You're not mad Ames. I'm really here. Nobody else can see me. I've tried it. Please believe me that I'm really here."

"So you're," Amy hesitated. "a ghost?" she finished uncertainly.

"Guess so." Ken shrugged. "I don't know if I'm supposed to still be here but I'm not going anywhere and I haven't met any other ghosts." He said the final word with a small smile.

"Let's say I'm not going mad." Amy said slowly. "Why can I see you?"

"I don't know Amy. My family can't see me and I stood in the middle of the footpath in Main street. People just walked through me." he laughed. "All I know is that if I had to choose one person who could see me, it'd be you." Ken reached forwards and took Amy's hands in his. "Do you believe me when I say I'm really here."

Amy met his gaze. "I do."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! So, I had my music practical on Thursday and I think it went really well. Well, I hope it did anyway. :P A huge thank you to all who reviewed.**

**But I Have Promises To Keep: Thank you! :D**

**mozzi-girl: I'm so glad you like it. I hope you like this chapter too.**

**buddyspeed: Thanks for pointing out the dead/deceased thing. You're probably right about that. :) Thanks very much for the review.**

**oryt: Thanks so much for reviewing!I'm glad you liked it. :D**

**And as a side note, I hope Alex doesn't seem OOC in this... Please tell me if he is. I think he might be when speaking to Blaise but I'm not sure... **

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><p>Amy and Ken had talked for nearly an hour when Amy's phone rang.<p>

She reluctantly answered. "Hello." The woman on the other side of the phone sounded cheerful and upbeat. "Ms. Chen?"

"That's me." Amy replied as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her hair somewhat resembled a bird's nest with bits sticking up in random places. "Is everything ok?" She asked as she tried in vain to smooth her ruffled hair.

"I'm just ringing to tell you that your apartment window has been repaired. You're free to return at any time you wish."

"Oh. Thank you." Amy hadn't expected the window to be fixed for at least a few more days. At least she'd hoped it wouldn't. She had been dreading the thought of moving back into the apartment where Ken had fallen to his death. The memories would have suffocated her.

She glanced back at Ken. He was sitting upright, watching Amy intently. If he really was a ghost and not just a figment of Amy's imagination, perhaps she might be able to breath after all.

* * *

><p>"You think-" Blaise started.<p>

"It's targeting Amy?" Mal finished incredulously.

"What makes you think that?" Natara asked, scanning her copy of the e-mail.

Alex shrugged. "I have my reasons. You all know Amy's bi-racial."

There was nods with one "No." from Blaise.

"She's half-Korean, half-Chinese." Mal explained quickly.

"May I use your computer?" Alex asked Maria.

"Of course."

Alex crossed the room and started working at the computer with a speed they had only ever seen Amy possess. Images and and pages flashed across the screen at an impossible rate, until finally, Alex turned the screen around so the room's occupants could see.

It was a website with a large banner written in blue and gold writing.

"Down with mutts." Natara read, shock colouring her tone of voice. "Half-breeds are impure. Let's make our world a cleaner place."

"This site was set up about 3 years ago." Alex explained. "Amy saw an ad for it when she was researching a project." He paused to click open a new window. This one was a screen of illegible, tiny black font. "This is what Project Acetone started as. It's a hacking programme that designed to literraly dissolve any coding it comes in contact with."

"And how is that connected with the site?" Blaise asked. "You're not making any sense. Either that or I'm going stupid."

Alex stared at her for a second. "I do apologize if I'm wrong Detective Corso, but I don't think you have much intelligence left to lose. As I was saying, this programme is somewhat similar to an incredibly destructive virus. It does have a few major differences however, which I'll not elaborate on now as they're not important." He paused. "Amy  
>developed Acetone and used it on 'Down with Mutts'."<p>

Alex opened the final window, another website this time. "She also started this website along with a group of people who held an interest in the whole thing."

This website was the total opposite of 'Down with Mutts'. The title at the top read 'Mixed and Proud' and was written in thick, multicolored letters.

As Mal stared at the screen, glancing over the photos displayed there, he had a sudden, nasty feeling as to where this whole thing was going.

* * *

><p>Amy's apartment was cold when she entered. Everything looked tidy and there was nothing she could see that had been disturbed. The window had been restored to it's previous, unbroken state and the sunlight streamed through as the glass revealed a view of the city.<p>

"They did a good job." Ken commented from behind her.

Amy didn't respond. Instead, she tossed her car keys onto the small table beside the door and turned the thermostat up so she wouldn't freeze to death inside her own apartment.

Her phone beeped as it came into connection with her wi-fi, downloading all the e-mails she had missed while in the hotel. Amy ignored them, instead leaving her phone on the table beside her keys

In a week's time, she would be wishing that she had bothered to read those e-mails.


	5. Chapter 5

**Really sorry that I haven't updated in ages, you can read the start of chapter 10 in 26 moments if you want the excuse. :P Thanks so much to everyone who reads, favourites and adds this story to alerts. Special thanks to those who review. (Hint hint. :P) Anyway, hopefully you guys like this chapter. Just a warning, it does get a little dark near the end. **

As the engine idled, Alex Kemp reflected on whether or not he should pay Amy a visit. He hadn't seen his ex-girlfriend in over six months and if he was being totally honest, he had missed her.

He sighed as he pulled out of the SFPD carpark. On the radio, a woman chattered happily as the introduction to "Patience" played. That had been Amy's favourite song when they were in grad school together. Alex almost smiled.

The traffic was oddly light so Alex reached Amy's apartment in a little under ten minutes. As he sat outside her apartment, the car still humming quietly, he questioned his decision. What if he was only going to put in more danger by visiting her? After a moments deliberation, he decided it wouldn't hurt. Maria had said someone would be assigned to look over Amy with the next hour. Surely she would be fine.

Alex stepped out of his car and into the warm afternoon sunshine. He allowed a young couple to pass before moving towards the large building. The last time Alex had been here, it was to convince Amy that he wasn't a terrorist. She had threatened him with a spoon.

It was only when Alex was standing outside Amy's apartment door did he realise that he had no reason as to why he was there. Maria had said to keep Amy in the dark about the e-mail, so what could he say to explain his presence?

After deciding that he would merely say he had been passing through town and had wanted to visit, he knocked on the solid, wooden door.

There was a pause, then Amy opened the door. She looked pale and exhausted with dark shadows beneath her eyes. She smiled slightly when she saw him. "Alex." she greeted. "Long time no see."

"You mind if I come in?"

"Sure." Amy stepped back to allow him to enter. "There's no killers involved though this time, is there?"

"Nope." Alex grinned, forcing away the guilt that accompanied the almost-lie. "I was just passing through town on business and decided I'd call in."

"Oh." Was all Amy said. "You want something to drink?"

"Coffee please." Alex answered. "I'm sorry I didn't bring anything with me. I mean to stop to buy something but it slipped my mind."

"Don't worry about it. Come on into the kitchen. I think I've got some coffee left."

Alex started in the direction of the kitchen and as he did so, he briefly saw Amy glance behind her and her expression changed for a moment. Bewildered, Alex didn't mention the strange action, and continued into the kitchen.

* * *

><p>The room was dark and the smell of human waste was enough to make almost anyone sick.<p>

But he wasn't just anyone. He was used to it by now, just like he was used to the shrieks and the tears and the begging.

When he grew used to something, he grew bored.

The old games weren't enough anymore, he wanted something new, something that would excite him and present a delicious challenge.

He stepped inside the room and turned on the light. A single bulb hung from the ceiling, shedding some meagre light. She lay against the wall, cringing away when she saw him. He had gagged her, her screams and pleading had grown tiresome after a while, but she could still whimper, and sometimes, even yell in pain.

He crossed the room with light footsteps, making no noise despite his heavy boots.

The woman stared up at him with bloodshot eyes. Her nose had stopped bleeding, now crusted blood clung to her skin. She couldn't stand, he had taken care to break both her ankles.

She sobbed through her gag as he towered over her. He stared a t her, disgust and disdain marring his features.

Her hadn't stretched outwards, trying to touch his leg as though begging for mercy. He stomped on it in disgust, satisfaction blossoming inside of him as he heard the bones crunch like dead leaves between the concrete and his thick soled boot.

He grabbed the collar fastened around her neck and pulled upwards. The woman hadn't eaten in nearly a week and he lifted her as easily as a mother cat would lift a kitten. He tuned out her muffled cries as he half-dragged, half-carried her from the room. There was work to be done.


	6. Author's Note

Sorry I've no new chapters, exams start next week and I'm literally chained to my desk. :P This is just to say that once the exams finished, (20th of June), I'll be updating regularly and far more often.

Also, I'm considering adding a contest/challenge thread to the forum. I'm thinking of maybe having a new challenge once a month. I want to hear what you guys would think of that, before asking people to be judges, etc.

Sorry again about the lack of chapters and thanks to everyone who reads and reviews!


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! I'm finally free! :D The exams are over and I haven't written in nearly two months... I hope that the weather's nice wherever you're living because it's bucketing rain here. We even had thunder last night. O.o **

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><p><strong>Thanks to everyone who reads, favourites, follows and reviews. Have a great summer!<strong>

* * *

><p><p>

**And here's a shoutout to Cool22hd! You rock! :D**

* * *

><p>Kai winced when he saw the body. He reluctantly knelt down beside it and scanned it over. It was a woman, perhaps in her early thirties. She lay face-up in the mood at the side of the lake. Her clothes were torn and soaking wet. It would be next to impossible to identify her by looking at her face. Her nose had been broken on several occasions, her eyes were swollen and puffy and ringed with bruises and the rest of her face was coated with dirt and blood.<p>

Her hands were mangled lumps of skin with bones sticking through. Her ankles hadn't fared much better, one foot was even twisted backwards.

She wore a leather collar tied so tightly around her neck, it was sure to have left a bruise. Judging by her state, Kai had guessed that the collar wasn't a voluntary accessory.

"I came as quickly as I could." Kai heard Mal's voice from behind him. "What ha-" Mal trailed off into silence as he took in the woman's appearance.

"Notice anything out of the ordinary Kai?" Natara asked.

Kai didn't reply immediately. "Apart from the collar? The bruises are all different colours. She'd been tortured for a week at the very least before she was killed."

He ran his eyes over the body again, this time noticing a lump in the pocket of the woman's jeans. He carefully reached over the corpse and slid out a drivers license, wrapped up in plastic.

"That looks as though whoever dumped the body wants us to know who she is." Mal noted.

Kai didn't respond as he dropped the license into a plastic evidence bag.

"I'll have more information for you guys when the autopsy report comes back." Kai stood slowly. "I need to look around the rest of the scene."

"Thanks Kai." Natara allowed herself a small sigh. "Keep us updated please."

"Sure thing."

As Kai strolled off, Natara cast a worried eye over the body, her gaze resting on the collar. She had a bad feeling as to where this would go.

* * *

><p>The longer Alex spent with Amy, the more obvious it became that something was wrong.<p>

She seemed nervous, her gaze constantly flickering away from Alex. She was restless as well, seemingly unable to remain in her seat as she busied herself with making coffee and hunting for biscuits in the cupboard.

Alex frowned as he thought of the e-mail. Had Amy received a similar one? Surely she would have told someone had she received anything threatening. Still, she did seem rather... high-strung, Alex supposed that was the word he'd use.

"Is everything ok Amy?" He asked.

Amy glanced to something at the other side of the room before answering. "Yeah, I'm fine." She replied, meeting Alex's gaze this time.

"You know if you ever want to talk about something-"

"I'm fine Alex." She interrupted him. "Thanks for the offer though."

Alex tried to not let his doubt show as Amy set the coffee down on a placemat in the centre of the table.

She hasn't changed that much.

He thought, recalling her disdain for putting cups down on a table without a mat underneath. A small smile made its way onto Alex's face. If he was being honest, he was no better. They had been well matched in that respect.

"Thanks Amy." He said as she took her own seat at the table, noticing again how her eyes flickered to the side of the room. "Did you hear about what happened to the Mad Dogs?" He asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Amy shook her head. "I haven't been in touch with the-" she glanced again to the side of the room. "-community in a while. I thought you were keeping out of that sort of stuff. You know with working for DARPA and all."

Alex laughed. "I just keep an eye on things. Sasha got caught. He hacked into the NYPD and somehow managed to open a video feed without realising it. The guys at New York collected evidence for about a week before arresting the whole Mad Dogs gang. The trial took two days I think."

Amy smiled. "Sasha always made stupid mistakes like that. It's a miracle he hasn't been arrested before now." She paused. "No. It's probably due to Kate catching his mistakes every time."

Alex nodded. "Kate bailed out just two weeks before the whole thing. Set up her own gang in Vegas. She's got two others with her so far I think."

Amy didn't reply and there was silence for a long moment. Alex was about to say something more, but before he could even open his mouth, his phone rang.

* * *

><p>Natara wasn't sure what she was expecting to see when Kai opened the drivers licence. They were back in the crime lab, the fluorescent lights replacing the sun.<p>

"Name: Lauren Mai Hamilton.  
>Age: 25<br>Ethnicity: Asian/European.  
>Place of-"<p>

"Hold ok Kai." Natara interrupted. "She's Asian/European?"

"That's what I'm after reading out." Kai answered, almost cautiously.

"Keep analysing the licence and see if you can find out if the victim has a connection to DARPA or anyone who works there." She told him. "I need to talk to Captain."

Kai watched Natara leave, her shoes clicking softly against the tiled floor of the lab. He sighed and turned back to his work, his gaze lingering on Amy's still vacant chair as he did so.

He missed her, even missed her scolding when he messed about and distracted her from important, and confusing, work. He missed her, he really did.

* * *

><p>Mal was delivering the report to Maria on the collared body they had found when there was a knock on the door.<p>

"Come in." Maria called out.

The door swung open to reveal Natara. "Sorry to interrupt Captain, but we've made an important breakthrough." Natara started. "The woman we found dead this morning was found wearing a collar and with a drivers license."

"I'm aware of that." Maria nodded curtly.

"Kai was examining the license when I noticed that the victim was bi-racial, Asian/European to be exact."

"Are you saying-" Maria's voice dropped in volume. "That you think this is related to the issue Mr. Kemp brought to our attention earlier?'

Natara nodded. "Yes. It makes sense, the collar, the references to 'mutts' and the fact that the victim was bi-racial. It fits the profile."

"I don't believe I've heard this profile yet."

"It only became clear once I made the connection." Natara replied, taking the seat beside Mal. "It's a man most likely, physically strong enough to subdue and restrain a woman who's in reasonably good shape. His racist tendencies are quite obvious, he seems to possess an intense hatred of people of mixed race. The torture inflicted on the woman suggests that he is gaining a personal satisfaction from hurting them as well as trying to get information from DARPA."

"Could our killer be the one behind "Down with mutts"?" Mal asked.

"Likely. All the connections are there to make it a plausible scenario."

"Our first priority is to make sure Amy is safe. Detective Fallon, I want you to take Amy somewhere safe. Agent Williams, please contact Mr. Kemp and tell him what we have discovered."

Mal and Natara both stood, casting worried glances at each other before leaving.

"I'm going to Amy's apartment now." Mal told her once standing on the pavement. "I'll ring you once we arrive."

"Be safe." Natara smiled. "See you later."

Mal drove quickly, hoping to get to Amy's apartment before anything happened.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as Mal made his way up the nine flights of stairs that lead to the apartment. He could hear voices when he reached the door, Amy and Alex were discussing something.

Relief washed over Mal as he realised Amy was still safe. For now anyway.

He knocked on the door and stepped back as he waited for someone to answer it.

* * *

><p>He was growing tired of waiting. The woman from DARPA had stopped crying and she had also learnt to stay in the corner of the room and shut up when he entered.<p>

He couldn't keep her for much longer. It was straining resources he couldn't afford to waste on what wasn't helping him achieve his goal.

He needed the Asian mutt if he was to continue his work, his noble work. He paused in his pacing briefly, stopping to withdraw a mobile phone from his trouser pocket.

The phone answered after one ring.

"Farrell." There was no time to waste on niceties.

"Yes sir?"

"We're moving the plan forward two days. I expect her to be delivered to me by tomorrow morning."

"Of course sir. I'll get on it."

"And make sure to leave a message for Mr Kemp and the SFPD."

"No problem sir."

They called Kemp a genius, yet he still involved the police. His newest acquisition would pay for that act of stupidity.


End file.
